Striving for Perfection

Helix Electric is a nationally recognized name in electrical contracting services. The full-service company delivers exceptional solutions for all of its customers’ needs, with unmatched service that has been built upon longstanding values of hard work, teamwork, quality, safety, integrity, innovation and community.
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Helix Electric is comprised of Helix Electric Nevada in partnership with Helix Electric California. Cut from the same cloth, the two have a shared commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. As a result, Helix has continued to expand since it was founded in 1985.

Since that time, the company has increased the variety of its services to provide customers with turnkey solutions and twenty-four-hour-a-day service and support. Speaking with Victor Fuchs, president and managing partner of Helix Electric Nevada, one quickly gets a sense that the company not only wants to be the best in the industry, but it wants to remain that way.

“We’re the largest married shop, non-union contractor in the state of Nevada,” Fuchs asserted. “Our success in the industry is because we believe in our people. We have top talent, and we continue to train top talent, and our philosophy is that we are only as good as the people that work for the company, therefore we go out of our way to make sure that we do right by our people.”

It boasts highly-trained and skilled employees who are specialists in the company’s many services. “We offer all diverse electric construction services from very large complex jobs, renewable energy, solar farms, power plants, public works, hospitals, multi-family construction, typical commercial stuff, data centers to full blown service departments,” Fuchs noted.

The company offers design-build, construction and engineering services and achieves these in the latest, most innovative and productive ways to improve the performance of its customers’ electrical systems.

Helix’ work is showcased in its extensive portfolio. It has the ability and expertise to complete projects for the commercial and retail, correctional, design-build, education, government and military, healthcare and biotech, hospitality and entertainment, industrial, mission critical, multi-family residential, renewable energy and transportation sectors.

The company’s work on the Nellis and Fallon Air Force Bases (Fallon is home to the nation’s Top Gun Training facility and program) are a testament to its capabilities. These projects included the total replacement of the bases’ distribution systems which required security clearance and output of the highest standard. Helix has also undertaken major work at McCarran Airport.

Likewise, its work in the healthcare and biotech segment also deserves recognition. Helix is able to complete work on medical facilities with no disruption to the ongoing operations in the facility. When people are on life support and undergoing medical treatment, the company can be trusted to get the job done while alleviating concerns of interruption or operational slowdowns.

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is one of the only facilities of its kind in the country and Helix was enlisted as a part of this project. This cathedral-like structure in downtown Las Vegas has 2,050 seats, features a seventeen-storey carillon tower complete with forty-six bells and achieved LEED Silver certification.

Fuchs also highlighted the company’s work on the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute as well as the Tesla Gigafactory. Helix’ unwavering focus on outstanding design and service enables it to secure high-profile projects and well-known customers who demand the very best.

Helix Electric has been recognized with twenty-six Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Awards, including five Associated Builders and Contractors National Eagle Awards and eight Design-Build Institute of America Awards. It has also received several safety awards that acknowledge the company’s commitment to the safety of its employees and its customers’ operations.

“On a continuous basis, we have won Eagle Awards which is the highest award of the Associated Building Contractors nationwide company. We have a number of those,” Fuchs stated. “We also have a number of awards of excellence, which is the second most prestigious awards for safety: the safest contractor of the year.” It is once again a finalist for Subcontractor of the Year in 2016.

“We were the number three EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor last year in 2015, number three in the country in EPC for solar installation,” Fuchs explained. He also highlighted Helix’ multi-family residential portfolio, noting that the company has a strong command of the high-density apartment market in Nevada.

“We have the largest share of apartments being built in Nevada – at this point, probably two thousand plus units under construction at different stages,” said Fuchs.

A big part of the company’s appeal is the guarantee that work will be completed on time, within budget and to the highest standard of quality and safety. Fuchs credits Helix’ comprehensive approach to quality and safety as the reason for its success in this regard.

“We are one hundred percent safety,” Fuchs said. “We are going this year with zero time-loss safety accidents.” The company has a full-time safety director on staff who monitors job sites and provides training where necessary to ensure safety is ingrained in the work culture.

As the company makes clear, “We have never subscribed to the theory that a construction environment is, by nature, a hazardous environment, and therefore, accidents are bound to happen. Instead, we’ve designed and implemented award winning safety programs that have resulted in one of the lowest accident rates in the nation.”

Safety and quality are reinforced through training and continuous improvement in the interest of market-leading excellence. Key to this are the employees and team members who are a component part of the company’s overall growth and success.

Highly skilled and trained construction managers, electrical engineers, electricians and estimators are found throughout the company. It also enjoys the advantage of a team of in-house fabricators and prefabrication options.

Employees and clients alike greatly benefit from Helix University that “provides training for our people on a weekly basis, whether its outside help or internal help. We have two or three classes on a weekly basis being taught on different topics, so if someone wants to learn, they can by joining Helix.”

“The world is wide open to join the company from the apprenticeship level, all the way to the top. Because we are a growing company, because we are committed to growth, there are always opportunities being developed. It really depends on the individuals, how hard they want to work, how hard they want to try,” explained Fuchs.

He stressed the importance of the company’s work culture, “Another thing at Helix that we consider, even though we are a large company, we consider ourselves a family company. When people join us we actually tell them, welcome to the Helix family. Every one of our employees is a major member of our team once they join. We want to make sure that people understand that and believe in it.”

From project estimation through preconstruction to completion, Helix Electric becomes a true partner on the project and brings a level of organization and professionalism that is necessary to see visions made real. Accurate estimating, adequate research and planning and the necessary talent and resources for project execution and customer satisfaction is what it brings to the table. It uses building information modeling, engineering and its team’s brilliant project management capabilities to get the job done right.

“It is not because you are an electrical contractor and you do a good job, it’s how you treat your employees, how you are involved in community, and how you are perceived by the outside world. It’s this and much, much more.”

Helix also undertakes multiple philanthropic initiatives that help to further support the positive work environment while reinforcing the company’s reputation in the community. Its efforts support a number of causes monetarily and in-kind including: A Home 4 Spot, 22 Warriors Foundation, Down Syndrome Organization of Southern NV, Blind Center of NV, Opportunity Village, Susan B Coleman Race for the Cure Cancer Walk, YMCA, schools, homeless shelters, LVGEA, Ride to Cure Diabetes, Natural History Museum as well as various charitable golf events.

It has certainly positioned itself as both an industry and community frontrunner. Recently, the company has opened an office in Reno to further take advantage of the market opportunities in the Nevada market. Both Las Vegas and Reno show great promise for Helix Electric and its ability to service a wider geographic area.

“We are hoping to become a major player there because we are in Las Vegas, and I think there is opportunity for the type of contractor Helix is. There is room for somebody like Helix to come in and become part of the community,” Fuchs said.

The future is bright for Helix Electric. No project is too big or too complex for this firm with the resources and the skills to satisfy all its customers’ electrical construction needs.

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